|  | Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. There are many different drugs but most work by killing any cells that are dividing. The drugs you receive will depend on your type of cancer along with many other factors, including:
 | Stage of your disease |
| Age at diagnosis |
| Genetic changes |
| Gender - males may have longer treatment for some leukaemias |
| Any other existing medical conditions |
Quite often the drugs are given in combination to improve their effectiveness and reduce the chance that your cancer cells will become resistant to them.
Some drugs can be taken orally while some must be given intravenously (into a vein). Many people have a central line put in to avoid having numerous intravenous injections. You can talk to your doctor about where your line will go to make it as discreet as possible.
A central line is a tube that is put into a large vein, often in your chest so that drugs can be delivered and blood taken without lots of needles. The tip of the central line ends up near the heart but they end that drugs are injected into can be in the arm, neck or chest. Even though doctors and nurses are very experienced in giving medication and taking blood, having lots of intravenous injections can get painful.
It is very important that you follow ‘doctor’s orders’ and take the cocktail of drugs for as long as you have been told to. For some patients this can be a long time but it gives you the best chance of fighting your cancer. |
| |
| | "I had CML so my transplant was planned right from diagnosis. I was on a drug called hydroxyurea until a donor was found - I could't believe just how normal a life I could lead pre-transplant"
"The team who put in my central line were very careful and you can hardly see where it was"
Click here to visit our Drug Info page.
Visit the Patient UK website for more information on chemotherapy.
| |
|
